Bruno Munari: Art Theorems

As Bruno Munari wrote in 1961, “The biggest hindrance to understanding a work of art is wanting to understand.” And so he has written this diminutive book of theorems, this witty, sincere book of enlightening poems, for the struggling art viewer. To excerpt from individual poems written between 1945 and 1960: if leonardo’s gioconda/had legs/she would leave art/and return to reality … is the choice of subject important?/raphael’s marriage of the virgin/art/john brown’s marriage of the virgin/not art/art isn’t the subject … a hundred lovers can even understand realism/a million admirers/will reject concrete art/with all their might … in italy art is supposed to be italian/in poland polish/in turkey turkish/and if a turk goes to paint in poland/what sort of art should he do?/and what if poland occupies turkey? … ministers and dictators/noblemen/the bored rich/sportsmen/dissatisfied professionals/worldly galleries/obliging critics/welcoming newspapers/opening cocktails/lots of people/art no.